Alliances

Alliances is a major new feature in ATO Online, initially released in v1.9.0(22/10/13).

It is available in Air Tycoon Online from January 1965 while available in Air Tycoon Online 2 from January 1970. The new feature allows companies of rank 20 or above to establish an alliance. The alliance would be officially launched when a membership of 4 airlines, including the master, is reached.
Alliances can have up to 12 members which are moderated by the establisher. It costs 20 credits to join an alliance.

In order to prevent alliances of high ranking airlines, top 10 airlines can only start an alliance but are not allowed to join one.

Benefits

Frequent Flyer Program: 1-12% increase in passengers, depending on the number of members in your alliance. This is automatic once your alliance becomes active.

Code-sharing: No need for additional slots, offices and counters on shared routes

Not able to open same route between members for 5 years (Depends on Alliance master's decision)

The founder of an alliance can forbid to open same routes also after 5 years.

Disadvantages

The founder of an alliance can forbid to open same routes also after 5 years.

Code-sharing

Code-sharing allows alliance airlines to share a single plane to fly the same route. The route profit will be split 55%/45% with the larger share going to the person that actually owns the plane flying the route. The junior partner receives 45% of the profit for no benefit to the person that owns the aircraft.

Why would one allow a code-share in this fashion when it basically cuts 45% of your profit to be given away?

Many airlines have reciprocal agreements in which each offers a code share of a route to the other. Each airline sharing a route in this fashion increases the demand on that route, so a route that only has 55% occupancy could become full this way. If each company shares a route with each other, both airlines benefit.

You can expand your network across the map, an achievement unto itself.

Airline share the costs of the route with each other.

On a route with competition, you can get more passengers for your alliance/airline. Example: two companies have the same route, both have an occupancy from 50% at this route. If you codeshare that route with a third company (from your alliance) the occupancy goes to 33% for each of the 3 companies. But the airplane that work on the codeshared route, have an occupancy from 66%. So the costs for that flight are reduced. Also you reduce the profit of the the airline without codeshare.

How do you codeshare? Simply go to an existing route of a member of your alliance and click the codeshare button in the bottom right corner.

The owner of the aircraft on the route can cancel the codeshare at any time and revert complete ownership back to themself.